Childhood longitudinal melanonychia: case series from Poland.
Postepy Dermatol Alergol
; 37(2): 195-201, 2020 Apr.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32489354
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Longitudinal melanonychia (LM) is characterized by a tan, brown or black longitudinal streak within nail plate caused by the presence of melanin. LM is relatively common in dark-skinned population, infrequent in Caucasian population, and rare in children.AIM:
We report epidemiological, clinicopathological and dermoscopic analysis of 8 cases of childhood LM from Poland, which is the largest series in the Central and Eastern European population. MATERIAL ANDMETHODS:
Three hundred and forty-eight patients presenting with various nail pigmentation (in 2010-2016) were analysed. 72 cases of LM have been identified, including 8 cases of childhood LM (< 16 years of age), which were included in further analysis.RESULTS:
Seven patients were boys and one girl, with mean age of 9 years (range 6-13). More than a half (n = 5) presented skin phototype II. The most common location of melanonychia was the first left fingernail. Dermoscopy revealed heterogeneity of longitudinal lines colour in 5 cases. The irregularity of longitudinal line thickness in 5 cases and irregularity of parallelism in 5 cases was observed. Histopathological evaluation was performed in 4 patients, in 3 cases it revealed the presence of nail matrix nevus, in one case the presence of melanocytic proliferation of the lentiginous pattern along the dermoepidermal junction.CONCLUSIONS:
Despite the fact that melanoma was not recognised in any case, such a possibility should always be considered as the cause of LM, even in the paediatric population. Dermoscopy seems to be useful in patient follow-up and management.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
Postepy Dermatol Alergol
Year:
2020
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Poland